*** Welcome to piglix ***

Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey

The Right Honourable
The Earl Grey
KG PC
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey by Sir Thomas Lawrence copy.jpg
Portrait painting by an unknown artist, after Sir Thomas Lawrence, c. 1828
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office
22 November 1830 – 16 July 1834
Monarch William IV
Preceded by The Duke of Wellington
Succeeded by The Viscount Melbourne
Leader of the House of Lords
In office
22 November 1830 – 9 July 1834
Preceded by The Duke of Wellington
Succeeded by The Viscount Melbourne
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
In office
24 September 1806 – 25 March 1807
Prime Minister The Lord Grenville
Preceded by Charles James Fox
Succeeded by George Canning
Leader of the House of Commons
In office
24 September 1806 – 31 March 1807
Prime Minister The Lord Grenville
Preceded by Charles James Fox
Succeeded by Spencer Perceval
First Lord of the Admiralty
In office
11 February 1806 – 24 September 1806
Prime Minister The Lord Grenville
Preceded by The Lord Barham
Succeeded by Thomas Grenville
Personal details
Born (1764-03-13)13 March 1764
Fallodon, Northumberland, England
Died 17 July 1845(1845-07-17) (aged 81)
Howick, Northumberland, England
Political party Whig
Spouse(s) Mary Ponsonby (m. 1794)
Children Stillborn
Louisa
Elizabeth
Caroline
Georgiana
Henry
Charles
Frederick
Mary
William
George
Thomas
John
Francis
Henry
William
Eliza Courtney (illegitimate)
Alma mater Trinity College, Cambridge
Religion Church of England
Signature Cursive signature in ink

Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, KG, PC (13 March 1764 – 17 July 1845), known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 22 November 1830 to 16 July 1834.

A member of the Whig Party, he backed significant reform of the British government and was among the primary architects of the Reform Act 1832. His government also saw the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. In addition to his political achievements, he has come to be associated with Earl Grey tea, named after him.

Descended from a long-established Northumbrian family seated at Howick Hall, Grey was the second but eldest surviving son of General Charles Grey KB (1729–1807) and his wife, Elizabeth (1743/4–1822), daughter of George Grey of Southwick, co. Durham. He had four brothers and two sisters. He was educated at Richmond School, followed by Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, acquiring a facility in Latin and in English composition and declamation that enabled him to become one of the foremost parliamentary orators of his generation.

Grey was elected to Parliament for the Northumberland constituency on 14 September 1786, aged just 22. He became a part of the Whig circle of Charles James Fox, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and the Prince of Wales, and soon became one of the major leaders of the Whig party. He was the youngest manager on the committee for prosecuting Warren Hastings. The Whig historian T. B. Macaulay wrote in 1841:


...
Wikipedia

...